


si vis amari, ama

by ggwynbleidd



Series: stand by your man [1]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout: New Vegas
Genre: Awkward Crush, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-08
Updated: 2018-06-08
Packaged: 2019-05-19 16:03:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14876960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ggwynbleidd/pseuds/ggwynbleidd
Summary: After a scuffle, Boone goes to Arcade for some healing hands.





	si vis amari, ama

**Author's Note:**

> "si vis amari, ama" - "if you want to be loved, love"

The Lucky 38 was empty and hollow, dead air and dust hanging in suspended animation, cigarette smoke thick as Arcade and Cass chain smoked at the kitchen table. They were sitting in silence now after they had finished late dinners of prickly pear and cram. ED-E was buzzing shrilly as it floated lazily around the rooms as if it were looking for something to do. Something to kill. Something to spy on? Arcade felt nervousness prickle in his stomach when it drifted through. It always felt like it was staring at him with a judgemental gaze.

They were the only ones awake, it was past midnight at the very least. Six and Boone had been gone for a few days and had taken Rex with them. Cass had lamented about missing the dog and Arcade agreed. If Six had taken ED-E, this bout of insomnia would be helped by a heavy and sympathetic head on Arcade’s knee. His eyes blurred and he rubbed his face to try and focus them. The sunburn across his cheeks stung as he did. Before he could even think about how to make something to stop that from happening, the doors to the Lucky 38 slammed open. Cass and Arcade both jumped in surprise.

“Hey!” the voice was loud and barking and jovial. Six was back.

Six had a shoddy bandage wrapped around one of her hands and Boone’s left eye was swollen and an ugly purple and green. Cass looked over at Arcade who simply sighed heavily and pushed himself out of the chair he was sitting in. Six smiled her crooked smile and sat down at the sofa with Boone. She was already picking her bandages away before Arcade could ask what they were for. Rex was jumping at Cass eagerly, mouth open and panting happily.

“What happened?” asked Arcade as he sat on the coffee table in front of his newly obtained patients. Six held out her hand with scabbed and purple and blue knuckles. Her middle finger looked just...horribly wrong. Pushed back on her hand and crooked. “Did you get this set by...anyone?”

“Uhh...nah, I didn’t. I asked that guy at that food stand outside Freeside to look at it. He called it gross. Julie was asleep,” Six said with a bright tone to her voice. “He gave us some good food though. We bought a nice steak to slap on Boone’s eye and that helped it.”

Boone shook his head behind Six’s head and Arcade pushed back a smile. However, a warm, raw piece of meat was all a possibly cut eye or shattered orbital bone needed. Six’s smile fell from her face when Arcade grabbed the finger. Her jaw went slack before she started to stammer for something, anything, to help. She also...refused Med-X at all times so he wasn’t sure what she was thinking of. Six shrieked when Arcade yanked her finger into place. Raul came out with a gun drawn before staring blankly at the scene before him. All he did was chuckle, shake his head and go back to sleep.

Veronica and Cass had to settle Lily back down, who was craning her neck and talking quickly and trying to gently push past the two women to help. Six’s finger was easy enough though, even as Arcade felt it throb under his touch as he fixed a splint and proper bandage to her finger. She slinked off to bed soon afterwards, giving Arcade and Boone a friendly wave with her thickly wrapped hand as he did so. Cass wandered after her and soon the kitchen only had Boone and Arcade.

“What happened? She didn’t say,” Arcade said quietly as he set out his tools to work. It was enough of a first aid kit. Gauze, stimpaks and even some chems that he had scrounged from the Mojave with Six.

“We ran into some Fiends that gave us a hard time. One got close and hit me with some brass knuckles, he was outta ammo. My sunglasses broke,” Boone replied. He sounded more bothered by the broken glasses than the fact that a Fiend got so close to a sniper. “Rex got him good.”

“Rex always does,” Arcade mused. A clean cloth was sitting in a pot of water that had just stopped boiling. They were waiting for it to cool for a warm compress. Arcade was sitting close to Boone, still examining him. He wouldn’t lose his eye and there was no cut. So no infection. “You know...steaks don’t really work, right?”

“That was Six. She bought it and just kept fucking rubbing it on my face. Nasty,” Boone chuckled. He reached for his pack of cigarettes and groaned as he palmed his pockets. “You got a light?”

Arcade fished out his own and lit Boone’s cigarette for him. They didn’t have the steak when they came in and Arcade was mildly interested in knowing where it ended up. It was either smacked out of Six’s hand in frustration and annoyance and was laying somewhere in the dirt; or when she was disappointed that her home remedy was working, Six probably gave it away to somebody in Freeside. Arcade wasn’t sure if he wanted it to be the latter. He fished out the now warm cloth with tongs and wrung it out before folding it into a neat square. He set it on Boone’s face and the other man hissed at the pressure and heat.

“Hold it like this,” instructed Arcade. Boone lifted his hand to hold the rag and their hands touched. His skin was rough, not a surprise, and Arcade felt a shiver run up his spine despite the smothering heat. “Just...keep it kinda pressed on here. Not too hard, but it is a compress. So compress it.”

Boone kept his hand over Arcade’s and the two looked at each other with blank, almost confused, expressions. Arcade tried to move his hand but it didn’t want to move, it just sat there like it was made of heavy stone. Boone didn’t seem to mind the touch either. They just stayed there. Staring and holding hands. Their thoughts (at least, Arcade’s thoughts) were interrupted by the sudden opening on the fridge in the corner. Their heads snapped to look at the source of the noise and Arcade moved his hand away quickly. Cass was staring at them with bleary eyes and messy hair, a Sunset Sarsaparilla in her hand. She chuckled and popped the cap on the counter before going back to bed.

“It’s late,” Boone announced suddenly. He stood, dutifully holding the cloth to his eye, and began to walk to his own bed. He paused and looked down at Arcade. “Thanks, Doc.”

He clapped a big, friendly hand on Arcade’s shoulder. The hand lingered and gave a friendly squeeze. Arcade hummed a wordless response and found himself reaching up for the touch on his shoulder. Their hands met again and he felt his stomach tighten with anxiety and glee. He kept his eyes on the table and smiled when their fingers knit together. They were silent for a moment longer, everything freezing, the hollow hum of the building and ED-E buzzing being drowned out by the sound of Arcade’s heart pounding in his ears. Boone slowly pulled his hand away and left. Arcade stayed seated and looked down at his lap. His face felt warm and his hands were shaking and he suddenly felt too jittery to sleep.


End file.
